Learning for longevity

[radanny]

Hello everyone! Im a 27 year old Navy Vet who’s really interested in all things related to health. Exercise, diet, supplementation, studies, and everything in between. When I was 15 I tore my meniscus playing basketball. I went through many many months of healing and frustration with not being able to use my body how I wanted to. Because of this, I went on a health learning frenzy to get back on track as soon I could. This injury created the love for health that I have today. Once I could, I started exercising and eating properly and got in the best shape of my life. This lit a fire in my heart in wanting to achieve things that no one in my family have done. Which led to me joining the Navy. No one in my immediate family had ever joined the military. So I took this challenge head on and wanted to serve. As it stands right now, I am working to getting back to being the best version of myself, with some roadblocks in the way of being TFCC tears in both my wrists. But working on getting those things fixed so I can continue my health journey.

(1st two pictures are 15 year old me after the injury through just calisthenics. 3rd picture is me at 23, second leanest I ever been. Looking to get that lean again with new muscle growth I have accumulated over the years and the ability now to be able to control my diet after leaving the Navy.)

 

[Ghoul]

Most of us don't start thinking about longevity until much later in life. Youth provides the illusion that "old" is a different species, rather than a black hole we're all irresistibly dragged towards.

Remember this to stay motivated:

It is far, far, better, and easier, to preserve now, than to try to replace or repair later.

Hair, teeth, skin, clear arteries. None of these things, in the state you have them now, can be purchased no matter how successful you are later in life.

Youthful attributes are nice, but common at your age. They're far more valuable later on, ESPECIALLY AS A MAN, and will distinguish you from your peers giving you a huge advantage in business and personal affairs.

 

[radanny]

Most of us don't start thinking about longevity until much later in life. Youth provides the illusion that "old" is a different species, rather than a black hole we're all irresistibly dragged towards.

Remeber this to stay motivated:

It is far, far, better, and easier, to preserve now, than to try to replace or repair later.

Hair, teeth, skin, clear arteries. None of these things, in the state you have them now, can be purchased no matter how successful you are later in life.

Youthful attributes are nice, but common at your age. They're far more valuable later on, ESPECIALLY AS A MAN, and will distinguish you from your peers giving you a huge advantage in business and personal affairs.

Longevity was definitely thrust to the forefront of my health goals when that injury happened and is reminding me again with my current injury. Climbing up the stairs with just my hands everyday because I couldn’t balance on one leg really added perspective to maintaining my health for as long as I can, not just getting bigger faster and stronger. Thank you for your thoughtful insight.

 

[Ghoul]

Longevity was definitely thrust to the forefront of my health goals when that injury happened and is reminding me again with my current injury. Climbing up the stairs with just my hands everyday because I couldn’t balance on one leg really added perspective to maintaining my health for as long as I can, not just getting bigger faster and stronger. Thank you for your thoughtful insight.

A very similar path for me after recovering from a serious injury, but much later, alas.

Consider it a gift. to get clarity at this early point.

To build on the above comment. No matter how stable things seem, a meteor can drop out of the sky and blow everything in your life up in an instant, The world is not designed to spare men in this situation. Women and children are always provided a safety net. To seek out help in this circumstance will at best get you benign contempt.

The bright side is that in this situation. men can live second, even third lives, often each better than the last, as bleak as things may seem. Generally, women don't have this opportunity.

So don't ever "let yourself go" in any sense, physically, in your personal, professional, or financial development, Don't get comfortable.

Men are the only members of society who can find themselves truly alone in the world. That's just the reality. Always maintain your value as a man, in case other supports suddenly fall away despite our sentimental illusions about "lifelong" relationships with anyone, you may wake up some day with only yourself to rely on.

 

[Benf15harp]

Honestly, life is way too short to be worrying about longevity So, Enjoy it. Dont be one of these morons counting steps or calories ffs
Who cares. Be healthy and happy. Duration is meaningless.

 

[BuildABro]

Welcome bro. Also Navy here. 4 years. OS3 when I got out. I was stationed aboard the USS Gonzalez (DDG-66) out of Norfolk. Haze gray and underway. Couple of other Navy people here who will probably chime in also, including a retired Master Chief.

Sounds like you are heading in a very positive direction now. I am too and it feels amazing. Nagging injuries I am sure sucks but it sounds like you are facing it head on proactively.

 

[radanny]

Honestly, life is way too short to be worrying about longevity So, Enjoy it. Dont be one of these morons counting steps or calories ffs
Who cares. Be healthy and happy. Duration is meaningless.

I enjoy my life as I am living it. I feel it is easy for some to become obsessed with some things but that can be anything. My family seems to be very prone to injury so keeping myself in working shape is definitely a priority for me in everyday life. Not obsessive. Just cognizant.

 

[radanny]

Welcome bro. Also Navy here. 4 years. OS3 when I got out. I was stationed aboard the USS Gonzalez (DDG-66) out of Norfolk. Haze gray and underway. Couple of other Navy people here who will probably chime in also, including a retired Master Chief.

Sounds like you are heading in a very positive direction now. I am too and it feels amazing. Nagging injuries I am sure sucks but it sounds like you are facing it head on proactively.

Thank you and thank you for your service as well. I was stationed on the USS Germantown out of Sasebo Japan. Some fun times, and not so fun times, but a hell of an experience. Glad to hear you’re doing well for yourself. And for sure, just learning the best ways to work through and move forward and have fun.

 

[BuildABro]

Thank you and thank you for your service as well. I was stationed on the USS Germantown out of Sasebo Japan. Some fun times, and not so fun times, but a hell of an experience. Glad to hear you’re doing well for yourself. And for sure, just learning the best ways to work through and move forward and have fun.

I am sure we both have sea stories to tell. Good times on liberty calls in port and crazy times when I was cooped up in the CIC underway and staring at my instruments for so long it felt like my eyes were going to bleed. Good and bad, it was still unforgettable for sure.

I think you will find lots of great info here to help you on your journey towards the best version of yourself.

 

[Country Club Hero]

I enjoy my life as I am living it. I feel it is easy for some to become obsessed with some things but that can be anything. My family seems to be very prone to injury so keeping myself in working shape is definitely a priority for me in everyday life. Not obsessive. Just cognizant.

It’s actually good you already noticed that about your family. I was totally indestructible until 40. Then the game changed and I wasn’t nearly prepared enough for the mind fuckery that seems to go hand in hand with injuries IME.

I’ve learned a lot the last 4-5 years and much of it the hard way. You are far ahead mentally. I’m former military too. 8 years from 20-28. Only injury sustained was a dislocated tailbone from jumping a bike on duty and a dislocated shoulder from lifting late 20s.

Used to I could heal from anything physically and mentally so quickly. Like crazy fast like a child. Almost until 40. So great genetics in a sense. At least regarding healing. But had I known then what I know now, I would be far more proactive in physically preparing for aging. I just never experienced it so I never considered it. Sounds like you are already set bud. Just need to execute and stay vigil. Good luck.

 

[radanny]

I am sure we both have sea stories to tell. Good times on liberty calls in port and crazy times when I was cooped up in the CIC underway and staring at my instruments for so long it felt like my eyes were going to bleed. Good and bad, it was still unforgettable for sure.

I think you will find lots of great info here to help you on your journey towards the best version of yourself.

Definitely all memories I wont forget. Thank you for sharing and welcoming me in.

It’s actually good you already noticed that about your family. I was totally indestructible until 40. Then the game changed and I wasn’t nearly prepared enough for the mind fuckery that seems to go hand in hand with injuries IME.

I’ve learned a lot the last 4-5 years and much of it the hard way. You are far ahead mentally. I’m former military too. 8 years from 20-28. Only injury sustained was a dislocated tailbone from jumping a bike on duty and a dislocated shoulder from lifting late 20s.

Used to I could heal from anything physically and mentally so quickly. Like crazy fast like a child. Almost until 40. So great genetics in a sense. At least regarding healing. But had I known then what I know now, I would be far more proactive in physically preparing for aging. I just never experienced it so I never considered it. Sounds like you are already set bud. Just need to execute and stay vigil. Good luck.

Thank you sharing your experience. Things like this are another reason I joined this forum. Learning from others is definitely important to me. If it means I can understand something better that I haven’t experienced yet, I could hopefully learn to deal with it being more aware.

I hope you got the treatment you needed for your injuries and are doing better. Sometimes getting the right help can be more difficult than the injury itself. Thank you for your service.

 

[egruberman]

you may wake up some day with only yourself to rely on

Isn't this every day?

 

[Ghoul]

Isn't this every day?

Not always if you have a really good relationship, but external events, "a bolt from the sky" can bring even the most solid to an end in a way could've never anticipated or prevented.

Hence the "never get too comfortable", ie in the "suburban middle aged man" sense, advice. You never know when you might get tossed back to the starting line.

 

[egruberman]

Not always

It's clear we have different backgrounds. Good thing, too, probably saves you a great deal of money on therapy.

Hence the "never get too comfortable", ie in the "suburban middle aged man" sense, advice. You never know when you might get tossed back to the starting line.

Seneca had a strategy for this, in Letters to Lucilius he writes:

Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with coarse and rough dress, saying to yourself all the while: Is this the condition that I feared?

If only I had the time for that.

 

[Ghoul]

It's clear we have different backgrounds. Good thing, too, probably saves you a great deal of money on therapy.



Seneca had a strategy for this, in Letters to Lucilius he writes:



If only I had the time for that.

"Background" has nothing to do with it. That's why most are unprepared for catastrophes that are not as rare as you comfort yourself with.

By all means enjoy romantic ideals that permeate the Western zeitgeist, that you'll overcome anything that comes your way through the "power of love". but what you describe is a actually a childlike naïveté that's apparent to the legion of men who've done absolutely everything right, only to discover fate can wrench anything from you without concern about "fairness".

How many women are suddenly killed by a car accident? Or illness? Or random violence?

Or a business fails leaving you penniless, or you become handicapped, saddling a spouse with the full burden of providing, along with caring for you for the next 50 years. You have no idea what your relationship would look like under the sudden imposition of such permanent immense stress. Statistics tell us clearly, the overwhelming majority do not make it.

I wonder how your fairytales would hold up when even the most recent history of civilized places shows life altering chaos can be imposed on millions, like Venezuela or Ukraine in the blink of an eye.

So while I've covered the gamut here, from common catastrophe on a small scale, to near genocide, my advice to never get comfortable and always keep yourself strong, not giving into the sedation created by illusions everything will hold together because that's how you think life will play out is the only sensible path for the clear sighted man. ESPECIALLY if you love someone, including yourself.

 

[RiceNKimchi]

At 27 for longevity, I would focus to get basic health markers in line. Blood pressure, hdl, ldl, diet. Hormones and the newer topic of peptides are under researched in our applications. They may help, in time we may find problems with them.

Many may disagree but bodybuilders have a consistency of dying before 40.

 

[Ghoul]

At 27 for longevity, I would focus to get basic health markers in line. Blood pressure, hdl, ldl, diet. Hormones and the newer topic of peptides are under researched in our applications. They may help, in time we may find problems with them.

Many may disagree but bodybuilders have a consistency of dying before 40.

PED users as a group have shorter longevity. Despite the benefits of leanness and other markers of health, they don't seem to offset other harms. Likely things we can't even measure at the moment.

That said, it's not ALL about longevity. Quality of those years is just as important. And that's pretty much what "harm reduction", not elimination, is about. Finding ways to live for the maximum amount time, while maximizing the life we have during that time.

 

[egruberman]

"Background" has nothing to do with it. That's why most are unprepared for catastrophes that are not as rare as you comfort yourself with.

I don't know what fucking comfort you think I have, but I'm prepared for and expect everything up to and including my own expiration.

you'll overcome anything that comes your way through the "power of love".

What are you fucking on? Power of love?!? I will overcome anything that comes my way that doesn't kill me because I am willing to endure anything that doesn't kill me. There are few other human beings that started with so little that have so much and are as capable. It's not love, it's a familiarity with and an ability to suffer more than you or anyone else you've ever met.

How many women are suddenly killed by a car accident? Or illness? Or random violence?

How about having your wife catch stage 3 cancer at an early age and thinking to yourself, "okay, we're doing this now."

your fairytales

Motherfucker, you don't know me or what I've been through, don't pretend to. I'm not going to brag and say that I'm smarter than you, more successful than you, prettier than you or have a bigger dick than you, but what I do have is a much, much greater capacity for suffering and survival and if you want to test that, let's do it.

 

[RiceNKimchi]

I skimmed your posts. There might have been slight jabs at you but it's the internet. A triple quote response is a Karen. Take it for what it is.... notice I didn't curse at all.

Edit I looked again there was no jabs at you expect your retortS